The Jackalopes scored just 15 seconds into the period and tallied four goals in all during the disatrous period.

"We played an even first period, then a completely, utterly dismal second period," Monroe coach Brian Curran said. "In the third period we came out with the idea that we would try to press them and beat them 1-0 in the third, and we did much better than that."

Odessa forward Paul Vincent accounted for two of the goals in the period, including the first one where he and teammate John Bossio turned a Monroe turnover into a 2-1 Jackalope lead.

"Our team gets inspired when anyone scores a goal," Vincent said. "We played awful last night (in a 6-0 loss to Shreveport) and we had to win to break a tie with Amarillo."

From there the floodgates opened as Odessa seemed to skate faster and play much crisper on both ends of the ice.

Odessa defenseman Adam Doyle pushed an unassisted goal past Monroe goalie Clint Owen, who was pulled between the second and third periods in favor of Marten Engren, to give the Jackalopes a 3-1 advantage.

Then Vincent delivered the kill.

The 6-5 forward skated onto the ice as Odessa goalie Billy Pye skated off during a delayed penalty against Monroe. Vincent skated into the play, took a pass from Scott Hillman and flipped it past Owen for a 4-1 lead.

"Vincent came off the bench and that was a key goal," Odessa coach Don McKee said. "He went in on a delayed call and picked the puck out of the air. He had a real strong game. He skated well and had a lot more energy tonight."

Curran called the goal a killer.

"I just hopped on the ice, the guy shot and it hit my stick," Vincent said. "I was right there.

"To be an athlete, you have to be athletic. I played lacrosse and baseball and there are some things you can't teach like toughness, speed and a knack around the net."

Defenseman Jacque Rodrigue added the final goal of the period on another defensive lapse, which led to another 2-on-1 situation. Rodrigue took a pass on Owen's left from Jason Heywood and one-timed it past the beleaguered Mocs goalie for a 5-1 edge.

The Jackaloped and Mocs skated to a 1-1 tie after the first period.

Odessa used a Bossio goal early in the first period to take a 1-0 lead. Bossio took a pass from forward Jason Heywood in the slot and ripped a shot past Monroe goalie Clint Owen.

The Jackalopes capitalizes on a miscue in the Monroe zone that saw defenseman Jason Smith loose track of the puck, before Heywood scooped it up and sent it to Bossio.

The Mocs responded late in the period, using a Bill McKay goal with less than three minutes remaining in the first to tie the score.

McKay skated hard to the Odessa net and was rewarded by Monroe captain Matt Cressman, who took a pass in the Jackalope zone from Mocs defenseman Jami Yoder and fed McKay in front of Pye for an easy goal.

Despite the 5-1 deficit, the Mocs came out inspired in the third period. McKay got his second goal before a Lukas Smital goal on a power play pulled the Mocs to 5-3.

But a goal by Jeremy Vokes and an empty netter by Rodrique gave Odessa a 7-3 edge late in the game.

Monroe's Sean Freeman capped the scoring with two minutes to play.

"We were both tired," Vincent said. "We had both played three games in three days. Monroe just seemed a lot more tired than we were. We were lucky to catch them on an off night. They are a very good team and if there was another five minutes I would have hated to be out there."